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The Best of 2013

Well then. 2013 is done. While I’m not a huge fan of the “Best Of” lists, I’ve been asked enough (by readers, authors, and even my own reviewers) that I figured I should give it a go. I’m not going to number them, as usual, and there will likely be more than 10. Why? Because I can do what I want! And stuff!

Seriously though, this was a great year. We had fantastic original, non-sequels, mixed with a ton of amazing follow-ups.

Also a disclaimer: this might not be a complete list, nor have we gotten around to writing the reviews for everything ON this list. There are a couple of novels that either I or my awesome reviewers have that just haven’t been read yet. People whom I trust completely have said these particular books are completely incredible, so I tend to expect that to be true (if not, I will be so angry. LOOKING AT YOU JUSTIN!). So take this list as EBR’s long-list for what we will considering for Hugo nominations. ‘Cause it’s that time of the year!

MOST ANTICIPATED OF 2014 (Not even close to a full list):
THE RETURN OF THE DISCONTINUED MAN by Mark Hodder
PRINCE OF FOOLS by Mark Lawrence
MAYHEM by Sarah Pinborough
WORDS OF RADIANCE by Brandon Sanderson
MONSTER HUNTER NEMESIS by Larry Correia
THE WIDOW’S HOUSE by Daniel Abraham
CIBOLA BURN by James SA Corey
THE CITY STAINED RED by Sam Sykes
RUINS by Dan Wells
FALL OF LIGHT by Steven Erikson
ASSAIL by Ian C Esslemont
RIVER OF SOULS by Robert McCammon
THE BROKEN EYE by Brent Weeks
CITY OF STAIRS by Robert Jackson Bennett

I definitely agree about Robin Hobb's recent series being disappointing. The entire story of Fitz ranks in my all-time favorite stories in all forms of storytelling, and it'll be interesting to see how she handles it, I'm exciting to see here return to Fitz and the Fool but for that same matter, I'm highly skeptical…

I read 2 of the 3 daniel abraham books. I really liked Tyrants Law. So do you think his urban fantasy is better? I generally don't like urban fantasy. When I read fantasy, I generally want to be taken away to a new world. However, if you think his urban fantasy is better I might give it a try.

wonder how long abraham can maintain his 3 book/year pace. The James SA Corey Pseudonym is doing a star wars book next.

These are a combination of all our choices. Not just me (Steve). I'm hardly a one-man-show. Without my reviewers, this place wouldn't exist. Some of the choices are specific to a reviewer, while some have significant overlap.

As far as Abraham, everything he does is awesome. To say his Fantasy is better than his SF, or his Urban Fantasy is better than his regular Fantasy is like picking a favorite kid. They are all so different, yet have some similar traits which are just amazing.

From a business standpoint, if he can keep this pace up he definitely should. Having your name in front of people (regardless of pen-name) is one of the single biggest contributors to sales and longevity.